the word 'ring finger' appears to have beenderived from an ancient belief that it is a magical finger, which is why it is namedafter magic or rings. declaring one's love and commitment by exchanging rings has beena tradition that goes back to the period of ancient egyptians. the ancient egyptians believedthat the fourth finger on our left hand had a vein that leads directly to the heart. sothey used to believe that by placing a ring on this finger, the affections will be boundand cannot escape through the finger tips. this symbolic belief of binding love throughthe vein in the ring finger to the heart passed on from ancient egyptians, and after manygenerations, the romans called it as vena amoris or "vein of love". then in 1549, kingedward vi of england declared that the third
finger on the left hand would be the officialring finger, and in the same year, the book of common prayers designated the left handas the marriage hand. since then married couple symbolically declaretheir eternal love and commitment for each other by exchanging rings. however, in someof the modern countries, the wedding ring is worn on the ring finger of the right hand,and this practice is becoming more common now. unlike this popular traditional myth, thereis no special vein in the ring finger of the left hand that connects to heart. all thefingers in our hand have a similar vein structure. the claim in question was just a belief thatstarted before the medical science discovered
how human circulatory system worked, and foundits way into modern culture.
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